When artistic inspiration seems low, taking a walk through nature may help restore it and spur on creative inspiration. Studies indicate that spending time outside can reenergize creativity and spawn fresh new ideas for art projects.
Bring some supplies to your camping trip in order to create this nature art project: a tin can light. All it requires are clean tin cans, glue, paper and a tea light for illumination.
Leaf Rubbings
Rubbings are an art classic that allow users to explore nature’s textures. Plus, it makes an excellent outdoor learning activity for kids!
To create a leaf rubbing, start by gathering leaves that feature interesting shapes and textures. Place one textured side down on paper, rubbing with crayon to reveal its pattern; this beautiful leaf design can then be turned into cards, wall art or fall decorations!
Encourage children to create rubbings of items they encounter outdoors such as rocks, twigs and bark that they come into contact with; these rubbings can then be strung together as part of a nature necklace.
Paper Plate Watermelon
If your children are missing their friends or family at camp, this simple paper plate watermelon craft is sure to bring back some cheerful memories while learning more about fruit and practicing basic fractions! Plus it makes a fun learning opportunity!
Create an easy watermelon craft by starting by painting the outer edge of a paper plate green, followed by red on its middle section and dotting randomly throughout it with black dots once dry.
Kids of all ages will love making these fun paper plate melons! Use a cotton swab dipped in black paint to add the seeds. Once dry, display and enjoy! This project makes a wonderful classroom or library project.
Nature Bracelet
Create outdoor learning and authentic play with this nature bracelet activity! Kids can collect their favorite natural items while exploring and then use those objects to craft a beautiful bracelet they can wear or give as presents to loved ones.
Stick sticky tape around each child’s wrist, and encourage them to collect any leaves, flowers, sticks, moss or pine cone scales they find as they explore nature on an outing. As soon as they return home from their adventure they should stick them onto their tape!
Dawn Suzette Smith is an self-taught naturalist and trained educator who homeschools two nature enthusiasts. She blogs at Mud Puddles to Meteors, providing families raising children who appreciate nature with an outlet for sharing information.
Leaf Towers
Making a leaf tower is an engaging way for children to use their imaginations and develop fine motor skills. Help your child collect leaves of all shapes and sizes before helping arrange them into patterns using sticks.
This camping activity for kids provides hours of entertainment. Encouraging them to add items from nature such as dandelion blooms, cattails and fern fronds is encouraged – then use washable paint with these items to give their fairy wands a natural aesthetic while encouraging pattern recognition! This project also serves as an engaging learning opportunity!
Nature Bookmarks
Encourage kids to explore nature by going for a walk and collecting leaves, flowers and branches that pique their interest – they could also add some colorful pressed moss for added dimension! In order to craft unique bookmarks of their own design, take your kids out on an exploration walk and look out for small leaves, flowers and branches they find striking in color, shape or size that grab their eye. When finished your bookmark will stand out among all others on shelves or bookmark stands!
Once they’ve collected items, have them press them between self-laminating sheets cut to bookmark size. Leave plenty of room around the edges; these won’t seal as securely.
Ideal for gifting or giving to avid readers in your life! Set of 12 eco-friendly bookmarks featuring black-capped chickadee, damselfly, giraffe and more characters on recycled paper stock bookmarks.
Friendship Bracelet
A friendship bracelet is a handmade, decorative bracelet given as a token of the relationship between two individuals. Commonly decorated with beads or embroidery floss, friendship bracelets are considered macrame. Knot-tying has historically been popular around the world and forms the basis of many patterns (like chevron or broken ladder) for friendship bracelets. Our friendship bracelet kit aims to foster social-emotional learning by building and reflecting upon relationships; our kit provides all supplies required for creating two friendship bracelets along with a worksheet so campers can reflect upon positive relationships in their relationships between campers themselves and each other.
The worksheet helps campers identify elements of a positive friendship and how to incorporate these traits in their relationships.https://www.youtube.com/embed/ig136ua56C4